Fringe: Flickers
by lupinskitten
Summary: Young Nina Sharp finds herself in for more than she bargained for when she becomes involved in one of Walter Bishop and William Bell's early experiments in time-travel.  Content includes moderate sensuality / violence.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the rights to _Fringe_ but I wish I did. Here is my modest tribute to one of my favorite current television shows, featuring the "early" scientists—William Bell, Nina Sharp, and Walter Bishop. Enjoy.

**Flickers**

It was a cold autumn day when Nina Sharp crossed the lawn outside the college and entered its hallowed halls. Dry leaves blew over the paving stones and crunched underfoot, birds twittering in the background as she removed a key from an inside pocket and fitted it into the nearest door at the bottom of a short flight of stairs not far from the main entrance. The sound of Bunsen burners and the scent of baking brownies greeted her as she left her bag of books on the back of the nearest chair and entered the lab.

"Oh, there you are," said Walter Bishop, his hands drenched in what appeared to be green slime. "Bellie, come and meet Nina."

Her eyes lifted to the stranger in the far corner of the room, hands in his pockets as he emerged from the shadows, and her heart skipped a beat. She knew him, by reputation if not in person, for he was one of the most promising young professors. He was extremely tall and thin, his features angular and his intense eyes dark. One lean hand stretched toward her and she hesitated before taking it, finding him as intimidating in person as he was at the front of a physics classroom.

"Dr. William Bell," he said. "You are in one of my classes."

"Yes, I argued with you last week about the probabilities of time travel." The faintest hint of color crept into her cheeks and she did not remark on the fact that he kept hold of her hand, firmly encased in his gentle fingers.

Recognition dawned and he said, "I remember! You said time travel was theoretically possible if we believe time is not a flat line, but an ever-altering circle. I found your assumption intriguing."

He released her and she resisted the urge to step away from him, finding his presence overwhelming. Walter was tinkering with something in the background. The doctor returned his hand to his pocket and continued to study her. "Your mind is more open than the others," he said. "That was why Walter thought we should meet. I suppose the next question would be: what is your opinion of testing such theories, ethical or questionable?"

"No advancement was ever made in science by adhering to ethics," she answered.

Steam arose from Walter's experiment and he smiled. "It seems we share a similar opinion."

Nina felt an unusual kind of sensation at the base of her spine, a shiver almost of fear but equal expectation. He indicated one of the back rooms of the laboratory and said, "Please, come and see what we are working on."

The cold shifted around her as they crossed the floor and he opened the door, revealing a complicated framework of tubes and transmitters, a machine that astounded her for its capabilities. "You are trying, aren't you?" she demanded, marveling as she placed her hand on the nearest piece of framework. "You are trying to manipulate and bend time."

"Yes, but we have reached an impasse in our estimations. We cannot get it to work; there is a miscalculation somewhere. We wondered if you might consider looking at our research."

He indicated a box full of documentation. Nina felt a rush of excitement but only nodded, not wanting to appear too eager. Bell smiled and said, "Well, then, I will leave you to it. I have a class to teach." He hesitated but turned on his heel and left, drawing his jacket off a chair and bidding farewell to Walter on the way. Nina stepped nearer the doorway and watched him go out, an emotion tugging at her that she did not want to acknowledge. Everyone on campus knew Dr. Bell. The professors spoke warmly of him, the faculty was in awe of him, the students found him intellectually inspiring, and most of her girl friends thought he was attractive. But he was also very distant from everyone, collectively lost in his thoughts and difficult to pin down; he was as much a mystery as his calculations, complex and futuristic equations that only a few could decipher.

As she pawed through the box, she discovered he was also a laborious note-taker, his comments precise and his method of thought beyond her comprehension. He was not simply intelligent, but massively so and even her intense conversations and quarrels with Walter could not compare with his impeccable conclusions. She had an hour before her next class and sat down to read, becoming absorbed in his notes and sketches, discovering his belief that the machine needed a catalyst, a power source that none of them possessed, a human element. He had found through his research someone he thought might be able to help them, a girl who had mysterious, almost supernatural abilities; there were times when she momentarily "flickered" into another dimension. Skeptics and scientists alike had dismissed her, but not Bell. Yet even when hooked up to the machine, she could not transport.

Nina was so absorbed she had not noticed that over an hour had passed and when she did glance at her watch, she growled and snatched up her things, running out and locking the door behind her. Walter was one of the cleverest under-graduates and had been given lab space in which to perfect his genius, but it was imperative no one know what he was working on. He had left before her and she checked his burners to make sure they were all off, for even in his brilliance there were some things that eluded him. She barely made it to class, skidding to her seat mere seconds before her professor entered, but as she took notes and avoided the curious eye contact of her friends, her mind was elsewhere. She remained distracted throughout the morning and at lunch, sat with the other girls on the front steps of the building. It was a cool day and she was grateful for the warmth of her sweater as she rested in the sun with half a sandwich in her hand and tried to listen to the others' conversation.

The doors opened behind them and Walter and Dr. Bell descended. Their voices were similar yet different, for Bell's was slightly higher but had a deep resonance that complimented his arguments. It was often the two bickered in public and most ignored them, but on this occasion Nina could not help watching as they passed without acknowledging her. She was not surprised or slighted; few knew of her friendship with Walter, devised the first day she had climbed up on the school roof and found him there smoking pot. That had been her intention as well, for she needed a lapse in concentration, and ever since they had shared a similar state of mind that eluded their companions. She had grown to like Walter for himself as much as his brilliance, finding him the perfect soul for the exchange of ideas. Through knowing him and learning to think outside the terms of cohesive reality, her grades had improved.

"It's a shame, you know," commented her roommate, drawing her back to reality.

Shading her eyes from the sun and brushing a strand of red hair out of her face, Nina asked, "What is?"

"That the most interesting men are always the least interested. Take Bishop for example; he's funny, smart, maybe a little condescending at times, but not one to turn down if he asked. Yet he goes around all the time with his head buried in a book or shut up in one of the laboratories downstairs. And then there is Dr. Bell; personable, charming, sincere in his compliments and criticisms alike, and completely oblivious to the fact that most of the women on campus are mad about him. And don't argue with me, you know you like him just as much as the rest of us. I saw you staring at him this morning as we left chemistry class."

Blushing, Nina returned her attention to her sandwich. Lauren smiled knowingly and leaned back on the stairs. The bell rang and everyone packed up to go inside, Nina casting a final glance across at the two men crossing the lawn. Walter stormed off in one direction and the ever-calm, rational Bell observed without comment, his arms crossed. Her friends had left and after a brief pause, Nina descended the stairs and walked toward him.

"Walter can sometimes be a little difficult, as you no doubt know," she remarked.

Bell turned toward her and let out a half-amused snort. "That is an understatement. We rarely agree."

"And why is that?" Nina tugged the strap of her book bag higher on her shoulder, the sun glinting through strands of her hair, pulled back in a ponytail.

The wind moved branches overhead and Bell stepped nearer, indicating he would walk her back. "I suppose because we see the world so differently. Walter is full of ambition but tends to be more reckless. It would make him a superior scientist in the end, but he is willing to go further than I am, too far. He has no doubt told you his theory of alternative universes?" At her nod, he said, "He believes it may be possible to travel between them."

"But you do not find that plausible?"

"Oh, it is certainly plausible, but is it wise? Our universes are like two wind storms on a similar course, running parallel to one another. If one strays into the path of the other, the two become one great hurricane rather than individual storms. One would inevitably consume the other and we cannot be certain it would be our world that would survive. We must be careful that our friend does not damage the fragile structure of _this_ universe in his quest to seek admittance to the next."

They reached the steps and there parted. Nina continued on and turned back to him. "Walter is a remarkable man but somewhat naïve," she said. "I trust you will not use him to your own ends."

"Walter is a friend and a respected colleague," Bell answered. "I trust _you_ will remember that."

Tension lingered between them, equal resentment at the role the other played in Walter's life. Nina nodded and continued on her way, but her good humor returned as her hand fell on the door handle and he called after her, "Would you care to have drinks with us tonight? We have a usual table at the bar down the street."

"Maybe," she answered, and went inside.


	2. Chapter 2

His invitation was a peace offering, an indication of his trust in her and respect for her ideas. Nina pondered that night as she studied whether or not to accept it, if it would be too easy an admission of interest or would at last permit her to approach their level of intimacy. She had been jealous of Bell for months, envying his long hours with Walter in deep discussion, finding her own friends lacked such qualities of intense thought. She chewed on the end of her pencil and glanced at the clock, its hands poised at a quarter past nine. Whenever she did go out on weekends it was about this time that both of them turned up, retreating into a haze of smoke in the back of the bar. Making a decision, she slammed her book shut and shoved her notes into her book bag. As she swiveled around in her chair, Lauren said, "You? Coming out of your books? Do you have a date or has the world come to an end?"

"Neither one, but I cannot concentrate with you snapping your gum." Nina hated her roommate; a mindless twat more interested in seducing her professors than putting any real effort into good grades. She had pleaded for a transfer but all the rooms were full this semester, so for the time being she was stuck.

Lauren rolled her eyes and snapped her gum extra loud as Nina left, shutting the door behind her and darting down the back staircase, avoiding two classmates making out in a corner and one who had clearly been smoking marijuana and was now staring in abstract fascination at the ceiling tiles. The open air was a welcome relief after the stuffiness of the dorms and her pace increased as excitement raged within her. Butterflies increased in her stomach as she crossed the street to the bar. She had never been wanted anywhere; she was too smart for most of the girls at her previous schools and the boys had not cared to be shown up by her. Walter had been her first true friend but even so, had left her out whenever William Bell was around. But now she had been asked to be one of them, to share in their serious conversations and voice her opinion in their arguments, and not by Walter, but by _Bell_. Somehow, that felt significant.

The bar was crowded as usual. She kept her head down so no one she knew would see her, skirting the larger tables and trying to remain calm as she approached the back. Their usual booth was empty and she felt a pang of disappointment before a familiar, sensual voice said over her shoulder, "You came. I hoped you would."

Bell removed the strap of her book bag from her shoulder and offered to take her coat. Nina took it off and allowed him to toss it in the far corner of the booth, tugging on the sleeves of her sweater and wishing she had worn something less dour. She seemed to only wear black and gray and suddenly realized he did too. It suited him. She slid into the booth and he sat across from her, indicating to the waitress that she was wanted.

"Nina?" he asked.

"Something light," she said, "I'm not much of a drinker."

The faintest hint of approval flashed through his eyes and he ordered for them. "I am not either," he confessed. "It numbs the mind and unlike Walter, I never find that helpful." Leaning back against the stiff, padded seat, his eyes took on a faint warm glow from the single lamp hanging overhead. "He should be here soon; he never sulks long."

"I take it you have not spoken since your argument this morning," she remarked.

"No, which is not unusual; sometimes we don't speak for days, even when working together."

He seemed to find it amusing rather than irritating and she liked that about him.

Their drinks arrived and she was glad, for it gave her something to do with her hands. Bell studied her, the noise of their surroundings retreating into the background. Presently, he said, "The first time you entered my classroom I knew you had potential and stood out from the other students. You were the only one willing to risk arguing with me and jeopardizing their grade simply to put forth a unique concept. And your theories on quantum physics were remarkable. But I must admit, my very first impression was your hair."

"Ah, yes, well, I fear not much can be done about it, although I do seem to be the only one in the family who has it." Her smile was genuine as she sipped her drink, aware that her foot was very near his under the table. "My mother always said my great, great grandfather had red hair but I am the first of the Sharps to exhibit it."

It was long and thick, loose about her shoulders and of a most unusual color. People often thought she dyed it.

Tapping his fingers on the table, he said, "I have a theory about intelligence and certain hair colors. Yours is… very unusual."

"Does it assist or hinder your theory?"

"Both." The corners of his eyes twinkled and shifted focus, catching sight of Walter making his way toward them. Nina watched the two men greet one another, a kind of affectionate contempt apparent between them as she took the cherry out of her drink.

Walter did not appear startled at finding her there, merely removed his coat and slid in beside her. "What did you think of our research?"

"It is very interesting and certainly probable, but I have not yet discerned what variables prevent the machine from working. Give me time."

Glancing across at his friend, Walter said, "Bellie believes we should not tamper with time. He must believe my intention is to change some incident in history and thus threaten our modern world."

Rather than respond, Bell crossed his arms and remained silent.

Nina looked from one to the other. "There is a certain danger in it," she admitted. "One might step on a butterfly and cause one variable to collapse into another, altering time as we know it. There is no end to the potential for good, but in doing so we might …"

"Tear a hole in the fabric of time," Bell supplied. "That is what I told him this morning."

"But is it not worth the risk?" Walter demanded. "Imagine the possibilities and what could be learned from it! To speak with Einstein or meet Tesla! To explore the greatest scientific minds of the past and learn from them first hand! What we know now is a mere speck in comparison to the vast secrets of previous superior generations! History is full of remarkable men, philosophers and mathematicians, tyrants and saints… if we do not tamper, then nothing will change! It is possible to visit the past and not leave a mark on it, but first we must master time itself! This was your idea, Bellie! Will you deny this chance when we are so near to making it possible?"

Uncrossing his arms, Bell leaned across the table and lowered his voice. "I did not say I would not do it. I am as intrigued with the idea as you are, but we must be careful. Tampering with time has the potential to destroy our universe. We cannot bend it to our own will; we risk creating cracks in the very framework of our world."

They scowled at one another. Nina emerged from her corner, drawing their attention as she said, "Your theories about the alternative universe… what do you believe exists on the other side?"

Reducing the furrow in his brow, Bell answered, "Duplicates; replicas of everything on this side but in varied form, since it stands to reason that alternative events would transpire. It would be foolish to assume we are carbon copies of one another, thus in the other world there would be significant but subtle differences."

"Differences, yes, but not in personalities, merely in life experiences," Walter argued. "It is safe to assume our genetics are the same, and as such our clarity of thought. It is even probable to believe many of the same conclusions are formed, that it is possible in the other universe, our replicas are engaged in a similar debate."

"Or the thought has not crossed their mind at all," Bell remarked. "They may not even know one another."

An awkward silence followed in which Nina half expected a mean-spirited retort, but Walter quietly said, "That would be a great shame." He caught her expression and his own softened as he placed his hand on hers. "Oh, dear, Nina… you must not be put off by our quarreling. William and I are quite fond of one another; you see, arguing and challenging one another, it stretches our minds."

"And our patience," Bell added with a smirk.

"That is indeed true," William laughed.

Their glasses were empty and in need of refilling. One of the waitresses came over to attend to it. Nina was more comfortable now that she'd had something to drink and her eyes wandered to the man across the booth. Bell had an unusual air about him that commanded respect, but she had discovered more to him than she first thought. Now that she had a glimpse into his thought process, all her initial conclusions about him as being distant and evasive faded, for he was in fact polite and considerate, more so than Walter, who was very driven and single-minded. It was Bell who stayed with her once Walter decided it was time to leave; he had come up with an idea and rushed off to apply it at his lab, leaving them with the bill and Nina holding her own coat.

Taking it from her and assisting her with it, Bell said, "That is our Walter."

His use of "our" caused her a feeling of affection and she said, "Yes, it is."

"I'll walk you, if you don't mind."

She nodded and accompanied him out into the night air. It was dark apart from the street lamps and the walk back to the dorms relatively peaceful, for it was late enough that most of the students had retired. They did not hurry, enjoying the faint hues of the night sky above the city lights. "You cannot see the stars from here," she said regretfully, "not like in the country."

"I _thought_ you might have grown up in the country; you have a certain …" Feeling her looking at him, he returned her glance, "… _idealism_ about you that city life robs us of entirely."

"Then you are not an idealist?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kicked some leaves out of the way.

"I am a realist. I look at problems and the logical conclusions. But our world needs idealists to keep realists sane."

Placing her hands in her pockets, Nina was quiet for a moment and then said, "This morning I was unkind in my suggestion that you would use Walter to your own ends. I'm sorry. I can see that you respect him very much."

The dorm loomed before them and he paused not too far from the foot of the stairs. Nina went up several steps and turned back to bid him goodnight. He watched two of her classmates go in behind her, laughing as they helped one another down the hall, clearly intoxicated. "I regret that I cannot speak to you differently in public on campus but it is better if no one is aware of our experiments. I trust you will not hold indifference against me, for I assure you it is not meant viciously, merely to preserve my reputation."

"I understand." Nina smiled at him, a hint of deviousness in her as she added, "And just so no one suspects, I will not hesitate to contradict you in class if I think your reasoning is faulty."

His eyebrows shot up and amusement surfaced in his tone as he said, "I would expect nothing less. Goodnight, Nina." He stuck out his hand.

"Goodnight, William."

Retreating with the tingle of his fingers still warm against her sleeve, Nina looked back as she entered the dorm and found him gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Classes continued and weekend discussions in the pub became commonplace; eventually she became less self-conscious in being seen with them in darkened corners, for Bell was well respected among his colleagues and it was well known that he favored his smartest students. On campus they stayed apart, interacting only when needed and coming and going from Walter's lab at different hours. Her input and ideas were considered with seriousness and sometimes adopted, at other times rejected on a basis of probability. Nina spent an enormous amount of time pouring over their blueprints with a pencil tucked behind her ear, arguing with Bell on the electrical impulses their machine generated, which she feared had reached dangerous levels. None of them could figure out what was missing, why it would not work. It _should _have worked; all their calculations were correct, the variables were all accounted for, and there were no missing factors, but nothing they tried—from jolts to basing the current in water—produced more than feeble sparks.

Amanda, the girl who had claimed to have traveled through time in flashes in the past, was content to run tests and Nina was present for the majority of them. She was astonished how calm her partners were about the process, as if it were second nature to them. Walter did most of the talking and Bell most of the note-taking, with occasional suggestions to make it run more efficiently. It was certain Amanda was not deceiving them for everything about her suggested this was the most rational thing that had ever happened in her life. Miniskirts and dark eyeliner were the norm for her, and school an obligation that she happily skipped rather than something she enjoyed. Nina was convinced within a few hours of their first meeting that the only reason Amanda put up with them was because she had a fondness for Walter, who was sweet in return. They hooked her up to wires, suspended her in a tank of water, pumped drugs through her veins, and still nothing changed.

"It _should _work," Walter said with frustration after another barrage of tests failed. "_Why doesn't it work_?"

Their subject had packed up her things and gone home, leaving them sitting dejectedly around the workroom. Bell was perched on one of the desks, Walter pacing in the far corner, and Nina once again going over their notes. She was so tired she could barely see straight, the flickering light overhead driving her to distraction. Its hum grated in the back of her mind until she could stand it no longer and picking up the nearest baseball bat, one of many similar odd items Walter kept on hand, she smashed the bulb. Remnants of it fell to the cement floor and she flopped down in her chair once again. Bell exchanged a lingering glance with Walter before he said, "Perhaps we should all go home for the night."

"No, the answer is here _somewhere_, I know it is." Pounding her first on his sketches, Nina dropped her head to the desk and moaned. She could hear Walter fiddling with the machine and cursing as it electrocuted him. Then she felt another presence and smelled a faint scent that reminded her of Bell. He wore aftershave, something musky that she liked. His hand rested on the back of her chair and he leaned over her, moving the pages.

"Maybe we are overlooking something," he said. "What did Amanda say about the first experience?"

Lifting her head, Nina sorted through her papers and drew one out. "She was at a party in old Garrison Hall. She said, '_I was standing in the corridor and then, suddenly, I was no longer there; it was the same space, but different, a much earlier time._' "

"What about the second time it happened?" Bell drew out one of the pages and said, "Yes, here it is… '_I stood at the corner of Elm Street near the old Arsburgh Mansion and wavered as the sound of a horse-drawn carriage approached_.' The third instance she was at Harvard Yard, and most recently she transported in her sleep… all these locations have something in common: they are points of historical interest. What if there is nothing wrong with our machine—"

Nina finished, "—only the place where we are attempting to use it! Of course! This building is fairly new and those locations must have something else in common, something that happened there… Garrison Hall, wasn't there a suicide there in the last century?" She reached for one of the local history volumes and started flipping through it.

Bell sat down on her desk, picking up a different book. "Elm Street was significant in the 1920's, the sight of the assassination of a foreign ambassador…"

"Death," said Walter from behind them. "They all have to do with traumatic experiences that have led to death. I was an idiot not to have seen it before… places in which mass panic and fear transpire create energy! As it has nowhere to go, it becomes engrained in the structures themselves—in the earth beneath our feet, in the walls, even in the subconscious mind! Amanda somehow is capable of connecting to that energy and the thrust of it is enough to transport her, momentarily, through time! So if we wish to replicate what has happened, we must try the experiment in a place where there is a great concentration of energy driven by death!"

His lab coat swirled around him as he went into his office; they could hear pages and books hitting the walls as he frantically sorted through his cabinets. Bell arose and Nina put out her hand to stop him, catching him about the wrist. "What if we take this a step further? Amanda never actually _said_ she interacted with anyone in these time-jumps. What if the energy build-up and her unique genetics were enough to propel her through time, but her body remained in the present?"

"You mean astral-projection?" There was a glint of fascination in Bell's eye.

"Let us reason that everything can be solved through science… is it not reasonable to suspect then that if such things _could_ happen, the documentation of ghosts might merely be a person _flickering_ through time?"

He stared at her. "Nina, you are brilliant. Come on." Slamming the book down on the desk, he pulled her up and dragged her across the lab. "Walter, we're going out!"

Snow swirled around them as they left the building, Nina pulling on her coat and running to keep up with his long stride. Campus was silent, most of the students in bed, only occasional street lamps lighting their way as they crossed the newly fallen snow to the library building. "It's closed after hours," she said.

He held up a key. "Privileges," he answered.

It turned the lock and let them into the building, him progressing down the hall and removing a penlight from his pocket. "No sense in letting anyone know we're here," he winked.

The great old library was eerie at night with the dim light bouncing off the walls. Nina kept close as they climbed the stairs and retreated into the dusty stacks, the scent of books rising to meet her. Bell was familiar with the contents of the shelves and showed her to a darkened corner, sticking the penlight in his mouth and using both hands to shift through the volumes, which were so old they creaked beneath his nimble fingers. Removing the light long enough to say, "Look for anything pertaining to Garrison Hall," he resumed his work. Nina sorted through the books and at last discovered a tattered copy of what appeared to be a printed rendition of local history. "Here," she said, and sat down with her back against the wall to read it.

Bell handed her the light and continued to search in the gloom, making faint sounds of disapproval until she called him over. "Listen, here is something from an old woman who worked in Garrison Hall in 1900. '_I turned the corner into the main corridor and there she stood: the figure of a girl; she was there but an instant, but a more unusual apparition I have never met_.' She is described as having dark hair and haunting eyes."

"The last time it happened, when she transported in her sleep, did Amanda not say that she wound up in a prison? Here is a reference to it, something about one of the guards being afraid because he had encountered an eerie vision of a girl in a white nightdress in the execution chamber."

Nina flipped through the book. "William, there are so many of them… ghosts seen in these different locations. Some are from the past, others from the future… there must be more like Amanda, those who 'travel.' "

Crouching to look over her shoulder at her book, Bell was quiet for a time. Eventually, he sat down and stretched out his legs, tapping his fingers on the floor between them. "Walter is right; these places are drawing them through some unusual concentration of energy. There must be a difference in Amanda's brain function that allows her to be aware of it, something that makes her different from the rest of us. But we have no way to discern what that is."

"Perhaps if we learn all we can about her childhood…" Nina faltered as he looked at her, not certain what he was thinking. "I mean, she is… well, as Walter put it, she is 'odd.' She strikes me as someone who has been hurt, who does not care. These experiments are dangerous, exciting to her. There must be a reason she is not afraid of them. Maybe something traumatic happened to her in the past that allows her to share the built-up energy and simultaneously has made her unafraid of death."

The idea lingered between them and she watched him process it, nodding his head in agreement. "So you believe it is possible to alter someone's bio chemistry through traumatic experiences?"

"If they shape our viewpoint of the world, our imagination, even trigger anxiety or happiness, it stands to reason they could have a physical effect on us as well. You have seen it in our testing… trigger a remembrance and our entire body reacts, not just our brain. Fear, hunger, longing, all of them shift our chemical responses."

For a moment he was silent, staring at her as if he were seeing her for the first time. "I suspect you are right," he said. "So the solution is to replicate her state of mind and surroundings from when she last traveled. Look in that book… does it say anyone ever saw the ghost again?"

He held up the light so she could see, flipping through the pages and at last finding a reference. "Here, it says the same ghost was seen a second time a few years later, this time in the eastern wing of the Hall."

"That is where we should base our experiment." Bell rose to his feet and assisted her up, suddenly switching off the light as he heard something. "The night watchman," he said. "I forgot, sometimes he comes upstairs on his rounds. Stay behind me." He turned back on his penlight, picked up the nearest book, and preceded through the stacks. Nina kept in the background and heard him encounter the security guard. "I saw lights… I am glad it is only you, Dr. Bell."

"I am sorry, Henderson, I did not mean to alarm you. I was in the midst of a formula and needed to reference the scientific section. I'll be out again in a moment."

The security guard nodded, relieved, and continued down the stairs. Bell waited until he had gone and motioned to her. They were careful until once more out in the open air, where they breathed a little easier. The snow was drifting down thicker now and muffled their footsteps as they returned to the dorm. It had become a habit for him to walk her home. Nina turned at the bottom of the stairs and paused, her eyes fixed on a figure across the way, near the shelter of the trees. Bell looked in the direction she was staring and asked, "What is it?"

"Nothing… I thought I saw someone but he's gone now." Her attention shifted to him and she smiled. "I have classes tomorrow, a full day of them, so I won't be coming by the lab as usual."

"That's understandable. Walter and I will bicker our way through the details for our next experiment. I will let you know when we are prepared to make another attempt." He hesitated, as if considering saying more, but turned away with his customary good night. Nina entered the dorm and watched through the window as he crossed the street and rounded the corner. She had never asked him where he stayed. She imagined his space well-ordered and defined, unlike the eternal mess Walter made of their lab. Bell was constantly harassing him about it and complaining about the gum he frequently found sticking his notes together. Nina knew Walter did that on purpose.

She managed to survive on four hours of sleep, rushed to her classes the next day, and collapsed in the early evening, for the first time in more than two months in bed before her roommate returned. Nina slept until she gradually became aware of someone watching her; she started upright, drawing in her breath as Lauren's face came into focus. The girl was perched in a chair near the window, wrapped in a dressing gown, her knees tucked up beneath her chin. "You _scared _me," Nina said accusingly.

Lowering one foot to the floor, Lauren answered, "Are you having an affair with _Professor Bell_?"

The hall light was on, shining in just enough to make out one another's faces as snow blew against the window. It had been snowing for two days straight. Nina brushed the hair out of her eyes and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"One of my friends sits behind you in chemistry class and she said there's something different in the way he speaks to you than anyone else. You have been leaving early and coming home late for months and I do not remember seeing you at any of the local hangouts. So, _are you_ 'doing' the most desirable bachelor on campus?"

Resting her head against her pillow, Nina said, "Dr. Bell has more important things on his mind than… _that_."

"Oh, please. He's a man, isn't he?" Lauren left her perch and crawled up on the bed. "You _have_ been around him, though, the last couple of months? Is that much true, at least?"

"If you must know, I am working on my term paper and yes, he has offered me some advice. But no, I am not screwing Dr. Bell." Nudging her roommate with her knee, she said, "No go away and let me sleep."

Lauren got up and retreated toward her own bed but turned and came back into the faint light. "If you aren't seeing him, then why did he walk you home last night at 3am?"

"What were you doing up?"

"More than you claim to be doing, apparently."

"He was being nice in making certain I was not mugged by one of your many campus boyfriends. Go to sleep!"

Pulling the covers over her head, Nina did not move again until she was certain Lauren had given up. Then she lowered the covers and stared at the ceiling. _Did _he speak to her differently from all the others? She continued to argue with him in class but he had not changed in his approach, or at least she had assumed he hadn't. Much of his affectionate behavior she had brushed aside as being her imagination, but he _had_ been more attentive of late. She particularly liked how her name sounded when he said it in his rich, chocolate voice. But none of them could afford a distraction; their current task was so important and so, somewhat ruefully, she turned over and went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

It was thought best that Nina speak with Amanda about her past, in the event that Walter's romantic interest in her might cause him to abuse his influence, and while charming, Bell was more purposeful than needed. Nina suspected this was one of the many reasons the men included her, for she was far more diplomatic than either one of them. It was in her nature to sooth people, to help them think with greater clarity and to reassure them that their deficiencies were not important. It was why she could reason with Walter without him becoming angry at her, and why Bell was not offended when she contradicted him. Though, of late she had argued with him less, finding his conclusions above reproach.

Nina did not mind this task and found it a pleasant occupation to go for a walk one frosty morning a few days later, bundled up against the cold. It was a weekend and most of the classmates had gone home or were indoors studying but she had finished all her work early and needed the exercise. They were quiet for a time, each lost in their thoughts.

"Walter said there was something important you wanted to talk to me about," Amanda said as they ascended the wide steps. Her dark hair fluttered around her face and she brushed it aside, bundled up to the neck in a warm coat. Her scarf was red and stark against their gloomy surroundings.

Birds fluttered overhead, keeping to the branches of the old elms. Nina skirted a patch of ice and answered, "We are hoping to figure out what allows you to transport through time. What do you remember about your childhood?"

"Not much if you want to know the truth. There was a car accident… I don't remember anything before that."

Amanda turned to look back at her as Nina paused and they resumed their pace. "What happened?"

"A vehicle came out of nowhere and sideswiped us. I don't remember very much, just a rush of movement and emotion and spinning across the street. When I came around, I was being cut out of the car and… Mother was dead. I remember her expression and the shirt she was wearing… purple." She shuddered and snapped out of her memories, lifting her brows and continuing on in silence.

"I am sorry." Nina put her hand on the young woman's arm.

The girl shrugged. "As I said, it was a long time ago."

"But not something you get over easily," Nina gently countered.

This prompted Amanda to look at her and her face softened. "You know, no one has ever said that to me before. It's always 'oh, it was such a long time ago, it cannot possibly be important to her now.' Most people don't know what it was like growing up without a mother. They don't know the _emptiness_ of it, the knowledge that it was my fault. I wanted ice cream. I would not shut up until I had it, so even though Mom was tired and had had a long day, she put me in the car and took me for ice cream. And on the way home we got hit and she died."

She swiped her hand across her nose and cleared her throat, looking off across the snow. Nina was quiet for a moment, allowing her to gather her thoughts, and then said, "It wasn't your fault. One second earlier or later and the car would not have hit you. It had nothing to do with a tantrum or ice cream. What happened to your mother is not your responsibility."

A bitter laugh filled the air and Amanda said, "That's what my priest told me."

"You should listen to him."

Considering her for a long moment, Amanda asked, "Do you believe in God?"

Walking along the winding path, Nina shrugged. "I have not decided what I believe in. I believe in science, but there are things not even it can explain. I believe you can flicker through time. But whether or not God exists, I have not yet discovered. Come on, let's go inside. It's too cold out here."

They were met on their return by Walter bearing cups of hot chocolate, and when Amanda how good hers was, he sat her down to explain his recipe, which had been reached through a complex series of calculations on just the right amount of each ingredient. Leaving him to cheer her up, Nina removed her coat and hung it on the coat tree, straightening her skirt and knocking before entering Bell's office. He glanced up from behind the desk, removing his reading glasses. "It went well," she said. "I do not think she understood why we had that conversation, but I found out the source of her emotional instability. There was a car accident, but she didn't see her mother die."

"That would make no difference—the impact, the adrenaline, her own fear might alter her brain chemistry enough to make her vulnerable to energy fluctuations." He folded his glasses and tossed them on the desk. "Walter and I think we should try again in a week, when the lunar cycle corresponds with the second sighting of Amanda in the book. 2am in Garrison Hall on Friday night. I take it you are interested in being there?"

"Of course, although I do have an exam that day so I should probably stay out of the lab for awhile. Have you made the changes to the machine?"

"I did, and I must say I find it a vast improvement. What made you think to move the circuits to the left side?"

She leaned against his desk and crossed her arms. "You forget I too am a scientist."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten," he said, his eyes caressing her face. "I may forget other things, but never that."

Intensity lingered between them and not for the first time she felt a little nervous in his presence. Lauren's accusation had reminded her that there was more truth in her suspicions than she cared to admit. There _was_ something between them, something never spoken but consistent in the back of their minds. He fought it, for it was unwise; she was a student and he was a well-respected professor. It would cause a scandal and so they never spoke of it.

Walter poked his head in to say he was going to walk Miss Grayson home. Bell dismissed him with a wave, remarking, "I guess we are on our own tonight. What would you say to Chinese food?"

"I would like that," she said as she went out into the lab. She could hear him phoning their favorite take-out place in the background as she opened the nearest notepad and read over his notes. Walter had given her a desk space, or at least finally moved his stuff off it so she could see the surface. There were burn marks from where he had sat hot cups of … well, she really didn't want to know. Two years of finding eyeballs in the microwave and brain matter in the freezer had taught her not to ask questions or be horrified at the answers. She glanced up as Bell returned and pulled near a chair, reaching for the nearest stack of calculations. Everything had to be perfect if this was going to work.

They read in silence for a time before he put the pages aside and asked, "What triggered it, do you think? It's not enough that the energy of the place would connect with hers; something must have caused her to flicker. It was early evening when most of these incidents transpired, wasn't it?"

"Yes, or in the middle of the night. Why?"

His deep brown eyes were contemplative. "Darkness is the common denominator; it lowers our inhibitions while at the same time easing us into a state of mild anxiety. We cannot see, therefore we are not certain of our surroundings. It unsettles us unless we are somewhere we feel safe. You said she was in a car accident, which means she received a sudden jolt of adrenaline… what if similar emotions caused her to flicker?"

"Could it happen in a dream state?"

Tapping his pencil on the desk, Bell rose to his feet and started pacing back and forth, the pencil flying between his fingers. "Yes, it could. Dreams involve our consciousness and it was her _mind_ that went elsewhere, not her literal body. What if she had a nightmare? What if it frightened her enough to raise her adrenaline and propel her through time?"

"… and then snapped her out of it, of course! Our mistake was in giving her adrenaline but not fear. _That_ is what triggers it." In her excitement, Nina moved across the room to stand with him. They stared at one another in similar elation that turned to wry amusement as she said, "Which means we have to scare her to make her flicker. Why do I feel like I have just graduated from science to a horror degree?"

He smirked and lowered his voice suggestively. "I don't know that they are mutually exclusive; you've read _Frankenstein_."

"I have indeed and where most children would have been traumatized, I wondered if such a thing were possible."

"Reanimation? I rather suspect it is _entirely_ possible, but whether or not we should tamper with it is another story."

A knock came at the door and Nina went to answer it, paying the delivery boy out of the tin of change they kept on hand for similar occasions. She set out the food cartons on the nearest cleared space and noticed he had ordered her favorite eggrolls. With a contented smile, she went to fetch drinks from the refrigerator, ignoring the charred plastic containers Walter was growing mold in. Bell moved aside his paperwork and they sat across from one another, propping their feet up on the desk and leaning back in their chairs, as she tried to master the chopsticks. "I never have asked you what you hope to gain from all of this," she said. "Your experiments… time travel… is there an objective other than mere curiosity?"

"Do we need more than that, if we are scientists?" Bell tapped the end of his chopsticks on his journal. "This, what we are doing, we are the first of our kind. We can participate in experiments our scientific forefathers never even dreamed of, that were not conceivably possible in their age. Imagine the capabilities of mastering science, of taking it to the extremes and even further, of making a dramatic risk in order to accomplish something great. There is excitement in it, a drive that promises rewards if we are willing to take chances. If we can replicate what causes our test subject to transport through time, even momentarily, imagine what we could do! We could learn to alter the human mind, to change the fundamentals of our nature, to open further doors and make anything possible!"

His passion was invigorating and he sensed her instinctive response to it, quieting into a knowing smile. He smiled often, far more frequently than Walter even though his mind was just as hard at work. He was not a professor in that instant but a colleague. "What about you, Nina? What is your ambition?"

"I have not made up my mind. I should probably stick around to keep you and Walter from killing one another." She nudged his leg with her foot and this prompted him to retaliate, upsetting him so that the chair went over with a crash. He vanished from view. Dropping her food carton, she scrambled to her feet and rounded the desk to find him stretched out on the cement floor, unmoving. "William?" Her hand touched his chest and crept upward to his neck as she felt for a pulse. She shook him. "Say something!"

The faintest hint of a smile touched his lips and she punched him in the chest. "You're faking, you _bastard_!"

He laughed and his eyes opened, his brows darting upward as he asked, "Science or horror?"

Nina lifted her arm to smack him again and was surprised to suddenly find herself on the floor, his fingers closed around her wrist as he loomed over her. It took the annoyance out of her and she caught her breath. He released her at once, realizing what he had done, but before he could pull away, she reached up and drew his lips to hers. Resistance was in him at first but then he relaxed against her, responding to the curiosity in her caress. His kissed her gently and then more urgently, her fingers taking hold of his lapels as she pulled him against her, finding the firmness of his body exciting. Her arm went around his neck and he lowered her to the floor, melting against her as his mouth parted hers with an excitement that captivated both of them. It was the same reaction she had whenever caressing one of their electrical machines, a spark that sent flickers of energy through her skin.

Instinct encouraged them but he lifted his lips from hers. "We shouldn't," he said, desire in his voice; he was attempting to fight it but could not seem to release her. The tip of his finger caressed her mouth and he kissed her again, lingeringly. She did not want him to stop; she wanted to feel his hands on her, to breathe in the scent of his aftershave, to throw caution to the wind, but she knew he was right. Yet she did not seem to possess the willpower to push him away.

He gathered his composure and sat up, lifting her with him. Nina brushed the hair out of her face and looked anywhere but at him, only shifting her eyes when he put his slender hands on either side of her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. "You are a wonderful scientist," he said. "I do not want your success to be called into question by an intimate association with me. Nor," and here he smiled faintly, "do I want _my_ reputation to suffer."

"Always about you, then, isn't it?" she teased.

It was too much to resist and he kissed her again, one last time. They stirred as there was a sound across the lab, a tentative knock on the door. Bell rose to his feet and went to answer it, finding one of his other students on the other side. "Dr. Bell," she said, peering around him curiously into the space, "I was told I might find you here. I have a question about chapter six, if you have a moment."

"Certainly, let me get my coat." Bell pulled it off the nearest coat tree and followed her out.

Nina waited until their footsteps had faded down the corridor and emerged from behind the desk, turning his chair upright and settling in with her papers. She slurped her noodles and absently drank half her bottle of water. Shadows grew in the far corners and above her the light flickered. She ignored it for a time and then became more aware of it when Walter's machine started to pulse; all the basement lights wavered, her concern increasing as she rose to her feet. The hair on the back of her neck lifted and she dreaded turning to look into the gloom behind her, taking a half step back as a hazy outline appeared, its flickers corresponding with the dimming and crackling of the lights. A woman stood there, dark-haired and obviously confused, a trickle of blood running down her face. She saw Nina and her mouth opened but no words came out.

Horrified, Nina turned to run, slamming into Bell as he returned. "Oh, God… William… I saw…" Her voice faded as she observed the lab behind her, all normal once more and felt the pounding of her heart against her ribs. She did not know what to believe anymore and her hand released his sleeve as she became aware that she was holding onto him. "I… I must be more exhausted than I thought," she said weakly.

Bell looked around the space and then at her, his face softening at the look of sheer terror she wore. "I think it safe to assume Walter is not returning tonight. How about we call it a night?" He picked up her coat and assisted her with it, switching out the lights and allowing her to precede him into the hall. Under the dim light of the nearest naked, dusty bulb, he turned the lock and they walked down the eerie corridor together. He kept nearer to her than usual and she was grateful for his silent support, not wanting to believe what she had seen. Nina thrust her hands deep into her pockets and shivered as they went out into the snow, listening to it crunch beneath her feet. She stopped midway across the lawn and stared at the far bank of trees. Noting her hesitation, Bell inquired, "What?"

For a moment, she thought she had seen a familiar man standing across the way but he was gone. She said nothing.

They walked the rest of the way to the dorm and parted without a word, Bell continuing on his way and Nina entering the hall with relief. Though she had come up with her own theories on ghosts, having encountered one did not leave her content, merely unnerved. Whether it had been a figment of her imagination or reality did not matter; it haunted her in the next few days, distracting her from her usual clarity of thought. But in true fashion, in spite of this, she concentrated on her studies and completed her exams without difficulty, her professors praising her on her well-explained calculations. Nina saw Bell only once before the weekend, in class and was surprised how easy it was to pretend nothing had happened. He did not look at her more often or less than usual and her tone was platonic whenever she challenged him. No one knew and the secret was all but dismissed from their minds, yet at night when she lay awake staring at her ceiling, she could not forget the sensations he had caused in her, powerful attractions like two magnets drawn to one another.

"You cannot fool me," Lauren said in the darkness. "You are laying there thinking about him, aren't you?"

Flopping her arm across her face, Nina growled, "Lauren, can you never think about anything else but _that?_"

"You see, this is our problem. I think about it too much and you don't think about it enough. Tell me."

"Why, so you can blab it to the entire school?"

Silence; an angry, almost hurt silence before Lauren asked, "Do you really think I would tell people something like that?"

"I honestly don't know."

"That's right, you _don't_, because ever since we moved in here, you have not tried to be friends. I have tried. I want to be friends. God, why wouldn't I want to be friends with the prettiest, smartest girl in the school? But you shut me out, constantly, so you can study, or read, or take notes, or hang around Walter Bishop." Lauren punched her pillow and turned over, burying her head beneath it.

Nina was stunned. She lay there in the silence and it seemed to grow heavier. "Lauren?"

"What?" her roommate asked, sulkily.

"I'm sorry. What do you want to know?"

Movement, as Lauren turned over. "What do you talk about with him?"

Nina put her head on her hand and asked, "With Walter or William?"

"Both."

"Science, mostly, experiments, quantum physics… it's very dull I assure you. But…" She toyed with the coverlet, tracing the faint patterns in the gloom. "You are not wrong. I like William Bell very much. But it can't work, at least not now; maybe someday, but not… now."

The wind teased the window and Nina lay back against her pillow, allowing the silence to envelop her. Lauren was quiet, not even moving around as she stared at the far wall. "Promise me you won't ever tell anyone, if I confide in you," she said presently.

"What?"

"I haven't slept with any of the professors. I haven't the nerve."

The corners of Nina's mouth turned up and attempting to contain her amusement, she said, "I'm glad."

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't, though," her roommate snickered.

"_Lauren, _go to sleep."

Giggling accompanied Nina turning over and drawing the covers up to her chin. But she drifted off to sleep with the faintest hint of a smile on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

Packing up the machine to transport it to Garrison Hall was a time-consuming process and Nina left the men to it, Walter bickering with Bell as to what should go where in his station wagon. They argued with everything from sprockets to how much time the process should take and how much adrenaline should be administered. Other than their raised voices, Nina could not make out most of it. "Out, out!" Walter finally shouted and an annoyed Bell emerged from the inner office. He leaned against the desk beside her and crossed his arms, saying not a word as he stonily stared across at the open doorway. Muttering and cursing went on in the background and a few minutes later Walter emerged, his hair on end and said quite humbly, "Bellie, I need your help."

Hiding her smirk, Nina watched as Bell waited a good thirty seconds before accommodating him. She packed up the last of the spark plugs into a box and carried it out, helping where she could as they crammed everything into the car and climbed in. It was late and the campus abandoned, most of the students out partying, darkness curling in around them as they drove the narrow streets and drew up behind the Hall. "You must not give her too many drugs this time, Walter," she heard from the front seat; "we need her mind open to suggestion, not numbed to complacency."

"You would know something about that, wouldn't you? It's what happens to me whenever you are around!"

"It's not me, Walter, it's the damned pot you are always smoking! I warned you that would fry your brain cells; it seems as if I was right."

"HAH!" Walter turned the car down a side street and said, "You would benefit from a good smoke now and again, maybe then you wouldn't be such an arrogant ass!"

With a certain amount of good-natured ribbing, Bell asked, "If both of us were stoned out of our minds who would run the machine?"

Clearing her throat in the backseat, Nina said, "That would be me."

Both of them laughed and the mood lightened as they pulled up in front of the Hall. Walter parked the car and removed the keys from the ignition. His friend reached across and placed his hand on his arm. "Seriously, Walter," said Bell, "we mustn't go too far this time."

Nina's ears perked up. _This time?_ What had happened that she was unaware of? Her mouth opened but they were already out of the car.

Garrison Hall was one of the oldest buildings in the district, so ramshackle that no one cared if anyone trespassed anymore, so there was no fear of being reported to the police. Remnants of overnight lock-ins and drunken parties were scattered about the crumbling foundation, beer bottles rattling underfoot. It was quite ominous and eerie at night and Nina felt a twinge of nerves as she stepped out, their flashlights revealing Amanda as she emerged from the shadows. She too seemed affected by the mood of the building, dark shadows beneath her eyes and uncertainty in her footsteps. Walter made certain not to look back at them as he went forward to lead her inside. "Oh, good," he said cheerfully, "there you are…"

Turning on her companion as he opened the back of the station wagon, Nina said, "What did you mean 'last time'?"

"Walter and I conducted an experiment his first year at the college that had unforeseen consequences." Brown eyes regarded her with an unusual amount of remorse. "You said when we first met that sometimes ethics must be put aside in favor of science. Our ethics escaped us and the result was unfortunate. That is when most of our arguments began, because I was shocked back into common sense by it and it only made him more determined." He drew one of the boxes out of the back and went inside, leaving her standing there alone in the cold. Nina bit her lip and considered, knowing what he meant; _their last subject had been hurt._ But she was a scientist and sometimes there was no room for conscience; what they were doing was important, so much so that it was worth the risk. Making up her mind, she shut the car door and picking up the nearest box of wires and parts, went after him.

The dusty hue from their flashlights bounced off the walls and Walter fumbled in the darkness, finding an outlet at last and turning on one of the floodlights. He guided Amanda into a corner and sat her down out of the way as they hurried to re-assemble the equipment. The girl wrapped her coat around her tightly and shifted back and forth on her feet, snapping her gum. The familiar sound caused Nina to pause and something stirred in the back of her mind. She started toward Amanda and Bell caught her sleeve. "I know you, Nina," he said. "You want to reassure her. Don't. For this to work, she must be in a state of agitation. You may comfort her later."

Doubt spread through her, an inclination that something was wrong, but she did not argue with him. Her fingers were nimble as she helped them hook up the machine, the endless wires and plugs finding their way into the right places as her mind recited everything they must remember. When it was all set up, Amanda was brought over and Bell leaned down to speak with her. "I would like to tie on a blindfold, to deprive you of your primary senses," he said. "Would this be all right?"

"Sure," she shrugged.

"If you want us to stop," Nina said, "at any time just give us an indication."

The blindfold over her eyes, Amanda gave them a thumbs up sign and spit out her gum. Walter slid his crazy-looking assortment of probes and wires onto her head and secured it. He glanced at his watch, indicating it was nearly time. "Amanda," he said, "I am going to inject you with adrenaline. You must not fight it; let your emotions take hold." His hand lingered on hers longer than needed as he released the contents of the hypodermic into her arm and fitted headphones over her ears. Nina stood alongside Bell at the control panel and with a swift movement he turned the machine on. The lights dimmed. His concentration was evident as he hesitated over a switch then pressed it. Amanda drew in her breath and her fingers tightened on the arm of her chair. Her breathing quickened and the lights flickered. Their surroundings shifted faintly, their perceptions altering as the energy around their patient expanded, her fear mingling with their anticipation. It was intoxicating, a rush that terrified Nina as much as it thrilled her and she watched in amazement as they flickered along with the lights, her hand wavering on the control panel.

The brain waves machine hooked up to their patient began to act erratically, Walter whispering, "She's doing it, she's flickering!"

The needle leapt across the page in wide swaths and then stopped, everything growing still. The intensity in the room was so concentrated that the outlet exploded and everything went dark, sparks cascading across the room. Nina felt Bell grab her around the waist and drag her to the floor as the control panel followed suit, the entire space glowing with an over-concentration of energy. When it faded, she felt him move away from her, his hands fumbling about in the darkness for the flashlight. "Amanda," he said, and feeling it with her hand, Nina snatched it up and turned it on. The light startled all of them, turning in the direction of the chair.

Dragging the machine off her head and ripping off the blindfold, Amanda exclaimed, "God, what a rush!"

Her giddiness faded as she found them staring not at her, but beyond her into the gloom. Pulling the hair out of her eyes, she turned to find someone flickering in the hall behind her, a ghostly figure with pale golden hair. Nina climbed to her feet and drew nearer, concentrating the light on the spectral form, but it shone all the way through. "Lauren?" she whispered.

The ghost lifted her hand, a look of shock on her face, and flickered away again. Nina shone the light around frantically, the beam glancing off the peeling wallpaper and faded dust-covered paintings. Walter took the machine from their patient, strangely subdued, and their murmuring filled the background. Nina stood silent, stunned. "William," she said, and there was such seriousness in her voice that he abandoned the others and came to her, "there has never been a death on campus, has there?"

"Not to my knowledge, no."

Pressing the flashlight into his chest, Nina took off at a run. She heard them shouting after her but ignored them, snow flying up around her feet as she sprinted down the street. Dogs barked and street lamps flickered, indicating her worst fears had been correct. She increased her speed as she ran across the campus lawn, past the half-melted snowman the freshman had built the preceding day, darting around the patch of ice that had formed at the foot of the statue of the school's founder. She slammed against the campus door and it opened inside, the flickering intensifying as she called out, "Lauren?"

Her voice echoed in the emptiness and she turned, knowing someone was behind her. Lauren stood there, shell-shocked, her eyes wide and one hand tucked inside her coat. "Nina," she said, stunned, and drew her fingers out coated in blood. She went down.

Nina knelt over her, feeling panic rising in her veins, attempting to stop the bleeding and barely aware that the door had opened behind her, letting in her companions. Walter stopped, stunned, and did not move, but Bell dropped to his knees. Amanda put her hand over her mouth and braced herself against the wall.

"She's convulsing!" Nina said, hanging onto her as the girl shuddered and thrashed against the cement floor.

"What _happened_?"

"I don't know; she's a traveler… maybe the concentration of Amanda's energy…"

After one final violent spasm, Lauren became motionless. Nina drew in a shuddering breath and Amanda whimpered in the background and slid to the floor. Everything came crashing in around them, Nina staring at her without comprehending what had happened. She had made a terrible mistake, she had not seen what Lauren had needed her to see, all along she had been there under her nose but instead, Nina had pushed her aside in favor of other, more reputable friends. She was stunned but fortunately, Bell was not. Digging through his bag, he drew out a syringe, their backup plan in case Amanda had gone into cardiac arrest. Pushing Nina aside, he drove the needle into Lauren's heart. The liquid drained into her and he said, "Come on, Lauren… come back to us."

The bulb overhead continued to swing, casting eerie shadows along the walls. Nina's fingers were covered in blood. Silence surrounded them in a suffocating wave and then, miraculously, Lauren gasped as air filled her lungs, clarity returning to her eyes, the adrenaline forcing her upright. Her fingers closed around Nina's wrist hard and her eyes stared at them, wide and terrified. Walter still did not move, but Bell said, "It's all right. We're taking you to a hospital." He pulled her up off the floor into his arms while Nina maintained pressure on the wound across her abdomen. "Walter," said Bell, jolting his colleague out of shock, "you're driving."

"I'll do it," Amanda said, and took the keys out of his hand.

The bright lights of the hospital were jarring after the gloom; the questions frantic as the nurses laid her out on a stretcher and wheeled her into the emergency room. Nina released her with relief and allowed Bell to handle them, his quiet assurance that he did not know what had happened. She sat and waited with Amanda while the men paced, their silence speaking far more than words.

"This is your fault," Walter hissed. "You always want to take it a step further."

"It was not my machine," answered Bell. "I _warned you_ to inhibit the energy field."

"How was I to know there was another one?"

Nina felt anger surge through her and moved upright, startling all of them. "If I have to listen to you to argue one more time, I swear to God both of you will be in the emergency room! Just… _shut up_!"

They stared after her as she stormed down the hall and entered the ladies' room. Slamming the door behind her, she pounded her fist into it and fell against the sink, looking at last at her reflection. Rows of empty stalls were behind her but all she could see was the dried blood that coated the side of her face. It was all over her hands and as she shrugged out of her coat and threw it to the floor, she drew in shuddering breaths. The water was cold, a welcome shock against the numbness of her emotions, of the grief spreading through her. When she finished and dried her hands, she realized they were shaking. "God, forgive me," she said, praying for the first time in her life.

"I rather suspect if He exists, He knows you did not mean what happened."

His scent was familiar, overpowering, even though he stood a short distance away from her.

Nina turned to him. "You told me it would be all right, that the only people involved would be the four of us."

"None of us could have known what might happen." He came forward and placed his hands on her upper arms, a hint of excitement entering his tone. "It _worked,_ Nina. She transported. What happened to Lauren… is inexplicable."

"Is that what you are going to tell yourself in the middle of the night when you cannot sleep? That it _worked_?"

Frustration entered his countenance. "You are a scientist! You knew the risks."

"Yes, and I am so much a scientist I forgot to be a human being!"

The door opened and a nurse stuck her head inside, startled to find a man in the ladies' room. She took one look at their faces and ducked out again, the door swinging shut behind her. Drawing in her breath and turning away from him, Nina attempted to find composure but the most she could muster was to put her hand over her mouth. Bell put his hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off. He took hold of her arm and turned her around, cupping her face in his long fingers and forcing her to look up at him. "Nina," he said, "I am sorry for what happened, but you cannot blame yourself. You are right; we should have shown more caution. But Lauren is going to live, either by some fantastic twist of fate or the hand of providence. Do not give up on science. There is so much we can accomplish together if you stay with me."

He rested his head against hers and she relented, knowing that her grief would eventually subside, if not the guilt. "What you want," she said presently and he looked at her, "how can you be certain it is worth it?"

"I can't," he answered. "All I can do is try and hope for the best. I need you. _Walter_ needs you."

Her hair gleamed red in the fluorescent lights and she leaned against him, allowing him to put his arms around her. "Remind me," she said, "if we ever go too far, remind me of this moment."

"I don't think you will need reminding," he answered.

Nina smiled ruefully and he asked, "How did you know?"

"When you left me in the lab the other night, I saw Amanda's mother. She must have crossed into our present at the moment of the accident. If time is a continuous loop then whatever happened to Lauren brought her here. Do you think we will ever understand it?"

Guiding her to the door, he shook his head. "I don't know, but we will do our best. Now, you should go assure Walter that you are not going to abandon us. He is very concerned."

"I'll bet he is. You two really must stop bickering."

"Never, it keeps our minds sharp." He removed his arm from around her and opened the door, letting her out into the hall. Once again, they were pretending not to be what Lauren had known all along. Nina went to convince Walter she would not betray them in leaving and Bell followed carrying her coat. Relief coursed through Walter's face and he asked, "Does this mean you're not angry with us anymore?"

"Absolutely not, you are both incorrigible," she answered. "But I suppose for now, I will put up with you."

He nodded and went to sit quietly in the nearest chair, Amanda taking his hand and patting it. The nurse approached to inform them that Lauren was stable. "You found her on campus?"

"Yes, why?"

"There was a similar incident not long ago, a young man with a knife. It looks like he got her in the stomach but for some reason didn't finish it." Catching sight of the policemen that had just arrived, the nurse ducked around them and hurried to report it. Bell and Nina stared at one another. Was it possible…?

"We may never know," he answered.

Stepping around him, Nina stared out into the darkness. "I think we already do."

THE END.


End file.
